Limited Data Plan? Download the Music Cloud To Go

Wireless data allows people to listen to millions of songs from the cloud, just about anywhere where they go, using all manner of services and sites. But once you lose that signal, the music stops.

As is we all too clear, wireless bandwidth is a finite resource. Mobile users on most networks can no longer buy all-you-can-eat data, as provider after provider switches over to tiered plans that only let you use so much data per month. In addition, many tablet users choose the WiFi-only models, leaving a whole category of mobile devices without cellular plans, limited or otherwise. Finally, the cloud makes Steve Wozniak nervous, and that should be enough to give anyone pause.

Without internet access, a phone feels like an expensive paperweight. Fortunately, there are apps that can still give you access to cloud-based music when you’re offline or “watching what you eat,” bandwidth-wise, so you don’t run into these listening limits. If you’re looking to conserve your cellular data plan, or if you’re out of range of a wireless network, follow these tips to take five kinds of music cloud with you — music lockers from Google, Apple, and Amazon; unlimited music subscriptions; streaming radio services.